Uganda defeats Cameroon in 2019 U-20 Afcon qualifier

KAMPALA, May 13 — Uganda beat Cameroon 1-0 in the first leg of the second round in the 2019 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier played in Kampala.
The hosts scored the lone goal through Steven Mukwala who capitalized on a well taken Geoffrey Wasswa throw after 44 minutes. Mukwala made no mistake beating Cameroon’s goalkeeper Christopher Assimba Atangana from close range.
Early in the game Cameroon’s skipper Ignatius Kpene Ganago who plies his trade with French team of League 1, OGC Nice, had two shots miss the target.
In the second half, Uganda’s Abubaker Kasule was booked for a foul on Ibrahim Abba.
Cameroon continued to play a highly passing and defensive game, but still failed to break the Ugandan defenders.
Mukwala should have made it 2-0 after 84 minutes, but his shot was blocked by the Cameroon goalkeeper. Uganda Hippos again had Robert Kitabalwa booked for a foul.
“We have been unlucky because we created so many chances but failed to score. We need to go back to the drawing board and plan for the home game,” Christophe Ousmanou, Cameroon’s head coach told Xinhua after the game.
Uganda coach Mathias Lule said it is good they picked a win at home.
“We now need to plan well for the away game because it will not be easy,” he added.
Uganda eliminated South Sudan in the preliminary round 8-1 on aggregate, while Cameroon enjoyed a bye from the preliminary because they are highly seeded.
If Uganda overcome Cameroon over two legs they will battle the winner between Mali and Tanzania in the third round.
The 2019 Afcon for U-20s championship will be held in Niger. The tournament is held every two years with the top four teams qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. – XINHUA